5/6/14:

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

It's the late 1970s and Mira is best friends with her neighbor, Sal, until one day he is mysteriously beat up on his way home from school by Marcus. That's the day her life changes--she loses her best friend after Sal shuts her out, her school goes on lockdowns because of a mysterious man running down the street, and she begins to receive a series of crumpled up notes warning her that when the messenger arrives, she needs to be ready because one of her friends' lives is at stake. In the meantime, Mira goes on with her life, making friends with Annemarie and Colin, working during her lunches at a neighborhood sandwich shop, and fighting off Julia (Annemarie's ex-best friend and Mira's new sworn enemy). Throughout the novel, Mira is determined to discover who Marcus is and why he hit Sal. With each walk to and from school, we see Mira grow as a person--one who tries to help others, including Sal and the crazy laughing man who keeps lurking by the mailbox outside her apartment building. When she finally starts talking with Marcus, Mira learns about his obsession with time travel (which also ties into her love of the novel A Wrinkle in Time) and she starts to wonder if it might actually be possible and if the notes she's found are from someone who came from the future.

Over all, Mira is a strong character who comes from a poor lifestyle--her mom hopes to get rich on the game show The $20,000 Pyramid--and she befriends people of all social statuses. As she does this, she goes from viewing the world in a child-like way to learning to accept all people, even Julia, for who they are and seeing the compassion that resides in all people.

To be honest, my discussion of this Newberry Award-winning book doesn't even do it justice. Just read it--you won't be disappointed!!

This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

Call Number: EF KLA

When a tiny fish shoots into view wearing a round blue topper (which happens to fit him perfectly), trouble could be following close behind. So it’s a good thing that enormous fish won’t wake up. And even if he does, it’s not like he’ll ever know what happened. . . . Visual humor swims to the fore as the best-selling Jon Klassen follows his breakout debut with another deadpan-funny tale.

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
Call Number: EF STEInterrupting Chicken is a great story about Papa chicken who is putting his daughter, Chicken to bed. Each time they are just about to finish a story, like "Little Red Riding Hood", Chicken interrupts and tells the rest of the story for Papa. Chicken then decides to tell Papa a story to see if it can help put them to sleep. Great humor mixed with folk and fairy tales combine with Stein's beautiful illustrations. If you're looking for a laugh or a good bedtime story, this is the book for you!